The Great Gadsby.

My cousin's husband is Nick Gadsby. He is 78 years old and a proper English gentlemen. He married my cousin, 58, after he lost his wife of many years. She moved about 15-years-ago from Brooklyn to Epping, England, where he has lived for most of his life.

When I met him this summer at their home, I was most impressed by his ability to engage in an intellectual conversation. Not that I think elders are incapable of this, but it really was one of his most striking features. On our last night there, we sat around the dining nook for a long time, sipping wine and touching on a number of issues, ranging from global warming, to individual rights, to European culture. No matter which way the conversation turned, he had a wealth of knowledge to bring to the table. I'm sure a good deal of this came from the fact that he has lived long, but I felt his knowledge came even more so from the fact that he was well-read, intrigued by learning, and had always made it a point to stay aware.

I was also attracted to the way he chooses to live his days. At 78, he is still working as a lawyer. He is active. Golfer. Hiker. Tennis. Travel. Cook. Family. He chooses not to stay insync with the downward (well, upward) movement of his years. He is embracing life and taking risks. Still in love with the world around him.

I'm not sure what sparked me to write about Nick this morning, but I guess I just wanted to emphasize the fact that this is the kind of person I hope to resemble in my old age. And of course, to be that elder sitting in a dining nook, making a lasting impression on a young person.